There are plenty of medications that people use to cure what ails them. In sports, the best cure always seems to be a win.
And the Brampton Battalion are definitely feeling a little better these days after snapping a two-game Ontario Hockey League losing streak with a convincing 5-2 victory over the Erie Otters on Sunday afternoon at the Powerade Centre.
With a crowd of 2,634 looking on, Nick Paul and Brandon Robinson burst out with a pair of goals each as the Battalion improved to 15-13-5 on the season.
“It feels really good,” said Paul of his two-goal afternoon that included a brilliant solo effort that started the Battalion on a four-goal outbreak in the opening frame.
“I can’t remember the last time I had two goals in a game,” continued Paul, who now has six markers on the season. “It’s pretty exciting.”
Butler was also happy to see much-needed scoring from his secondary forwards and hopes it continues into the second half of the OHL season.
“It’s no secret that they’re (Paul and Robinson) the guys we need to have better second halves for us to make the progress we need to make,” said the Brampton coach.
“Nick is one guy on our team who’s really good at taking pucks to the net and that’s exactly what we need,” added Butler.
Paul certainly wasn’t shy about going to the net for his first goal just past the three-minute mark of the opening period. He took a pass from Cameron Wind at the Brampton blueline. He cut across the middle at centre and then muscled his way around Erie defenceman Adam Pelech and headed straight for Otters goaltender Oscar Dansk. Paul slid the puck into the net from the edge of the crease.
Paul staked Brampton to a 3-0 lead nine minutes later and it was another case of winning the battle during a scramble in front of the Erie net. Barclay Goodrow got off the original shot on goal and Paul managed to convert the rebound.
Pelech, who logged more than 30 minutes of ice time for the Otters, was the goat on Goodrow’s 22nd goal of the season that came a little more than minute after Paul opened the scoring.
Goodrow was killing a hooking penalty to Patrik Machac when he broke away from the Brampton blue line. Pelech mugged Goodrow before the Battalion winger was able to get off a shot and was immediately awarded a penalty shot. Goodrow made no mistake as he slid the puck under Dansk from close range.
Robinson scored late in the first period and closed out the scoring with his second goal of the game and sixth of the season that came with less than five minutes remaining in regulation time.
The Battalion dominated most of the game against a young Erie team that had nine players in the lineup who were born in 1995 or later.
“I thought in the first period, we were very opportunistic,” said Butler, “but in the second period, we couldn’t finish at all.”
The Otters outshot the Troops 13-10 in the first period but Brampton turned that around in the second, finishing with a whopping 16-2 edge in shots.
In all, the Battalion had 37 shots at Dansk. Brampton goaltender Matej Machovsky stopped 25 of 27 shots.

BATTALION BULLETS: Machovsky leaves on Wednesday to join the Czech Republic team’s training camp in advance of the World Junior Hockey Championships. If Machovsky makes the Czech team, he’ll miss nine Brampton games. . . Defenceman Spencer Abraham made his first appearance at the Powerade Centre since being traded by the Battalion to the Otters back on Oct. 3. The Troops received a sixth-round conditional pick in the 2014 OHL draft in return for Abraham. . . Defenceman Zach Bell sat out Sunday’s game after leaving Friday night’s game in Kingston with back spasms. . . The Troops lost 4-3 to Kingston on Friday in the final meeting between the two teams this season. The teams split the season series 2-2. Brampton won both games at the Bunker and the Frontenacs were winners twice at the K-Rock Centre.